It wasn’t umon—many veteran designers spent decades crafting their signature pieces before presenting them to the world. Soft whispers around her echoed simr thoughts, reinforcing her assumption and easing her nerves.
Besides, designers often used pseudonyms to present their work, and the name associated with this set was ’<i>Andarta Aria.’</i> If interpreted symbolically, ’<i>Andarta’</i> was the Celtic goddess of victory and strength, while ’<i>Aria’</i> suggested a melodious song. Combined, the name conveyed ’The melodious song of victory’—a bold, almost audacious deration.
It was elegant yet arrogant, as if the designer fully intended to dominate not just thispetition, but the entire world of jewelry design through sheer talent and vision.
Alice smirked inwardly. That kind of name didn’t seem like something Hera would dare to use. She was too busy ying the innocent, sweet-as-sugar white lotus.
Alice was sure Hera would never be so daring—using such a name would only invite scrutiny fromizens and possibly bacsh for being too arrogant. No, this wasn’t Hera’s style at all.
Excitedly, Alice crafted a post for her social media, eager to share her aplishments with the world. She had already prepared the pictures and detailed exnations of her jewelry design, including the concepts and the process behind it.
All she needed to do now was copy and paste from her notes into the post, ready to hit ’publish.’ This would be her opportunity to showcase her work, letting theizens see how she stacked up against the other contestants and industry veterans. It was the perfect moment to market herself and reshape her public image.
Alice saw this as her chance to turn the tide, to use her notoriety to her advantage. In her mind, there was no such thing as permanent hatred on the inte, not as long as there was drama and entertainment.
The more eyes on her, the better. She knew that after the controversy she’d stirred up earlier, with people attacking her for being promiscuous, she’d gained more attention.
Drama, after all, was the currency of the inte, and as long as it kept people entertained, the opinions of others could be easily swayed.
But in the world of a reversed harem novel, as Alice unknowingly found herself in, people had a more tolerant view on such matters.
Though she didn’t realize it, Alice was ying her part perfectly in the unfolding story guided by the storyline, following the narrative set before her. All she had to do was continue doing her job well, and everything else would fall into ce.
Sure enough, as soon as Alice posted the picture of her design draft, along with her thoughts, design concept, and the panel of judges’ verdict and scores, theizens who had once condemned and belittled her were momentarily stunned into silence. Then, a surge of likes andments flooded in, praising her for being both young and incredibly talented.
...
[AliceNoHater: Holy crap! Did she really score 7.5 points and be the youngest to get such a high score?!]
[zingSun: @AliceNoHater Didn’t you hear? There’s someone with an even better design who’s expected to win. I saw the design on the live broadcast, and it truly is a masterpiece. But the penname ’Andarta Aria’ feels a bit too arrogant.]
[AliceNoHater: @zingSun Wait, it was broadcasted live? Did this... Alice really do that well?]
[zingSun: @AliceNoHater Yes, so far, Alice is the youngest to receive the highest score, apart from ’Andarta Aria,’ who wentst due to an emergency and got some leniency. I heard she might actually be a middle-aged woman, so Alice still did an amazing job in thepetition.]
[AliceLove: Kya! I knew it! Alice is still the best! She’s young, beautiful, and talented! Who would believe she tried to seduce Young Minister Dave or the genius Doctor Zhane? Maybe it was just Young Minister Dave’s political enemies framing her!]
[Blowblow: Alice’s brain-dead fan, stop trying to clean up her image by ming Young Minister Dave’s political enemies. You could get sued for spreading false rumors. Remember, when Alice was found in bed with two men, she didn’t even need to see their faces to blurt out Young Minister Dave’s name and Doctor Zhane’s.]
[Blowblow: That clearly suggests she expected them to be the ones in her bed, but when it turned out otherwise, it only proves she nned the whole thing. There’s already evidence backing these ims. Just admit it: Alice tried to climb the socialdder using her body. Don’t try to sugarcoat it.]
[AliceFan1: @Blowblow Climbing thedder? Have you even seen Alice’s designs and the judges’ verdict? They praised her, recognizing her potential. She’s clearly on her way to sess on her own merits, without needing to rely on any man.]
[AliceFan1: Do you honestly think only that bitch Hera could use her talent to get ahead? Let’s not forget, it’s more likely Hera’s the one using her body to climb thedder, given how many men are fawning over her. Maybe that’s why she’s pushing all this mud at Alice – jealousy at her ownck of merit.]
[HeraIsMySister: Hey, you! Our sister Hera is just minding her own business and isn’t trying to drag your idol down at all. Everything that’s happening right now is a result of your idol’s actions. Does your head only for decoration, or has it shrunk to the size of a pea? Even a bird’s smarter than you! Stop throwing mud at my sister, or you’ll quickly learn how powerful our fan club really is!]
[HeraIsMySister: (??????)?╦╦═─]